Which returned more over the last year, ESML or FNX?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ESML returned +17.7% and FNX +12.4%.

Which is cheaper, ESML or FNX?

ESML is cheaper, by 0.45 percentage points a year. That is about $45 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do ESML and FNX overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 12% of ESML and 8% of FNX by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

ESML vs FNX: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ESML returned +17.7% to FNX's +12.4%; 41% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $2.7bn for iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF and $1.4bn for First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund.

ESML on its own →FNX on its own →

At a glance

+17.7%

ESML total return, 1 year

+12.4%

FNX total return, 1 year

0.17%

ESML expense ratio

0.62%

FNX expense ratio

Pair scorecard

ESML costs 0.45 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.3 points; ESML is 1.9 times larger.

ESML vs FNX: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ESML	FNX
Return
Measure	ESML	FNX
Total return, 1 year	+17.7%	+12.4%
Drawdown
Measure	ESML	FNX
Below its high	5.3%, high on Aug 14, 2026	4.9%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	ESML	FNX
What it tracks	MSCI USA Small Cap Extended ESG Focus Index	Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Core Index
Cost and size
Measure	ESML	FNX
Expense ratio	0.17%	0.62%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$2.7bn	$1.4bn
Holdings
Measure	ESML	FNX
Holdings in common	41%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	5.2%	4.4%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Apr 20, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026 · 444 weekly returns

ESML FNX

Return

Total return edge FNX (slight) +126.6% +132.3%

Annualized edge FNX (slight) +10.1% +10.4%

Price return edge FNX (slight) +104.3% +110.8%

Risk

Volatility edge Tie 22.8% 23.2%

Max drawdown edge ESML (slight) −40.6% −41.9%

Downside capture 104.1% 107.9%

Beta 1.11 1.15

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge FNX (slight) 0.41 0.42

Sortino edge FNX (slight) 0.59 0.61

Treynor 0.085 0.086

Calmar edge Tie 0.25 0.25

Against the benchmark

Alpha −4.4% a year −1.5% a year

Alpha t-stat −1.14 −0.77

Information ratio −0.27 −0.01

Tracking error 11.3% 9.1%

Each against its own benchmark: ESML against PBUS, Apr 20, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026; FNX against IWV, May 18, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

FNX returned slightly more: +132.3% to +126.6%. ESML and FNX swung about the same: 22.8% and 23.2%. ESML fell slightly less at its worst: −40.6% to −41.9%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: ESML vs FNX: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ESML	FNX	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+126.6%	+132.3%	FNX (slight)	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+10.1%	+10.4%	FNX (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+104.3%	+110.8%	FNX (slight)	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	22.8%	23.2%	Tie	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	16.0%	16.2%	Tie	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−40.6%	−41.9%	ESML (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	97.1%	115.8%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	104.1%	107.9%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.11	1.15	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.76	0.85	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.41	0.42	FNX (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.59	0.61	FNX (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.085	0.086		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.25	0.25	Tie	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	PBUS	IWV		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−4.4% a year	−1.5% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−1.14	−0.77	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−11.9% to +3.2%	−5.4% to +2.4%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.27	−0.01		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	11.3%	9.1%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 444 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

41%

By the books each fund has filed, ESML and FNX hold 41% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

41% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first ESML FNX

SOUTHWEST GAS HOLDINGS 0.34% 0.41%

CHARLES RIVER LABORATORIES INTERNA 0.32% 0.35%

DYNATRACE INC 0.38% 0.32%

DOCUSIGN 0.31% 0.35%

ONE GAS 0.40% 0.31%

ANTERO RESOURCES 0.30% 0.45%

APA 0.29% 0.44%

RANGE RESOURCES 0.29% 0.54%

RUBRIK CLASS A 0.29% 0.42%

UGI 0.28% 0.39%

ZIONS BANCORPORATION 0.27% 0.30%

HOST HOTELS & RESORTS REIT 0.26% 0.32%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in ESML

MODERNA 1.13%

US FOODS HOLDING 0.58%

OVINTIV 0.51%

REVVITY 0.39%

GUARDANT HEALTH 0.38%

EQUITABLE HOLDINGS 0.36%

NUTANIX CLASS A 0.36%

ROYAL GOLD 0.36%

Only in FNX

Qualys, Inc. 0.43%

Concentra Group Holdings Parent, Inc. 0.41%

Matador Resources Company 0.41%

PACS Group, Inc. 0.41%

Enact Holdings, Inc. 0.40%

Magnolia Oil & Gas Corporation (Class A) 0.40%

Caris Life Sciences, Inc. 0.39%

Dropbox, Inc. (Class A) 0.39%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

ESML iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF FNX First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares First Trust

What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +17.7% +12.4%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.3% (PBUS) +13.3% (IWV)

Gap to its benchmark +4.4 pts vs PBUS −0.9 pts vs IWV

Expense ratio 0.17% 0.62%

Already in the S&P 500 12.3% 8.2%

Holdings 903 451

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $2.7bn $1.4bn

ESML and FNX on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-27097BC743

ESML and FNX are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

What each follows. ESML follows MSCI USA Small Cap Extended ESG Focus Index and FNX follows Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Core Index.
Holdings in common. 41% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 ESML returned +17.7% and FNX +12.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.3 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

ESML

ESML tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.17% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 12% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 903 positions, with the top ten at 5.2%. It sat 5.3% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

FNX

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.4% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.

FNX tracks an index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.62% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 8% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 451 positions, with the top ten at 4.4%. It sat 4.9% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, ESML or FNX?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ESML returned +17.7% and FNX +12.4%.
Which is cheaper, ESML or FNX?: ESML is cheaper, by 0.45 percentage points a year. That is about $45 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do ESML and FNX overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 12% of ESML and 8% of FNX by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

ESML vs GSSC ESML vs VIOG ESML vs VIOO ESML vs SCHA FNX vs VIOO FNX vs SMLF FNX vs SLYG FFSM vs FNX

Where to next

ESML on its own →FNX on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →ESML dividend history →ESML holdings →FNX dividend history →FNX holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

ESML filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ESML prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for ESML ↗

FNX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FNX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FNX ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, ESML against FNX, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/esml-vs-fnx

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.